


Things that ought not to be meddled with

by NTK



Series: Who needs plans anyway [4]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst, Geraskier, Hurt, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mpreg, Not Beta Read, Omega Jaskier | Dandelion, Omega Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:08:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23862820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NTK/pseuds/NTK
Summary: Sequel to ‘Bedroom bestiary and urgent gems’ – Shani’s revelation is blowing all minds and emotional capacities. Misunderstandings are on the menu and of course, in all of that chaos,shearrives…
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Who needs plans anyway [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700353
Comments: 31
Kudos: 298





	Things that ought not to be meddled with

The witcher awoke when a strand of brown hair tickled his nose. Jaskier was softly snoring, his back turned to Geralt. The alpha put an arm around him and pulled him close. It didn’t wake the bard but he sighed in his sleep and nestled his body into the witcher’s.

In the secrecy of the dark guest room, Geralt smiled. How often had he imagined them like this, on the countless nights spent in bedrolls apart from one another? Only to shut his imagination up and proceed as usual. Against all odds, his daydreams had manifested in front of him.

He spent some time imagining the most pleasurable ways to wake Jaskier. Stroking him hard while toying with his nipples? Teasing his hole until he woke from the sensation and wetness between his thighs? Or simply kissing his neck and shoulders until his heartbeat became too quick for unconsciousness? But Geralt could tell from the general noise and sounds outside that it wasn’t early anymore. Regis would be here soon, and they had to contact Shani. As hard as it was to get out of bed (and it was slowly getting harder and harder), they’d have to make time for that later.

So, he inhaled the omega’s scent one more time, kissed the spot right below his ear and carefully disentangled himself.

Downstairs, Marlene greeted him in the hall, as did B.B., who reported that the workers had complained about the strange apparatus in the stable. Geralt assured him it was fine before he took some chicken and pan friend potatoes from the kitchen.

It was not much later when Jaskier came downstairs that the witcher realised again how glad he was for all the reasons that kept the bard here. Damn, he’d even accompany him to artsy things and frivolous soirees if that kept Novigrad and Oxenfurt out of his mind.

“Breakfast?”, he offered.

Jaskier stopped on the last step, his hand on his mouth, the other waving Geralt’s question away. He didn’t look good at all: Apart from the dark shadows under his eyes, his face was still so pale and although he didn’t sway or lean on the wall, his posture gave away a certain weakness.

“Poor boy, are you still not better?” Marlene called behind the witcher. Geralt shot Jaskier a questioning look, but he just groaned and headed for the main door.

“Jaskier, what is it?”

“S’alright. I just need a bit of fresh air.”

Geralt felt bad. Did he look worse than yesterday? He should’ve seen it, considering how close they got to each other. When he went after him, he found his friend sitting on a stone behind the house, his elbow resting on his knee, his face in hands. Geralt sat next to him.

“Tell me.”

“… I already did.” The bard sighed and looked up from between his hands. “Don’t worry, it’s fading now. It’s mainly after getting up. Damnit, these blockers really are annoying.”

Geralt looked at him. He didn’t want to ask; didn’t want to imagine him with someone else, but given the symptoms, there was no way around it.

“Are you sure it’s that?”

Jaskier looked at him all serious. “It must be. There’s no other explanation.”

The bard was prone to joke or outright lie about things that made him uncomfortable, but Geralt knew when he wasn’t. And although he didn’t know if Jaskier had had the same thought as him and wanted to put his mind at ease about something particular, he was in fact relieved to hear it.

“Hmm. The offer still stands.” The witcher didn’t elaborate, but surely Jaskier understood. They had grazed the topic only yesterday.

_Maybe you shouldn’t take them then._

“It would mean a risk if you slept with others. But…” When Geralt didn’t finish, his friend looked up and over to him.

“Are you saying that I should only sleep with you?”

The witcher didn’t move for a few seconds. He should have known it wouldn’t sound right out of the bard’s mouth and obviously, Jaskier would refuse any moment now. Geralt muttered a curse under his breath and stood. “Forget it. Stupid idea.”

“No, it’s not!”

Oh?

The witcher knew his face must have given away the surprise. Jaskier had jumped up, his eyes were wide and full of meaning. Yet he didn’t say anything else. Instead he reached for Geralt-

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you.” Marlene appeared behind the witcher and headed for the two men. Bless her for all the good food she put on the table, but why now??

She turned to Jaskier. “I was wondering if I should prepare something with less meat. Since it gave you such uneasiness yesterday, dear.”

The witcher looked back and forth between the two. His concern returned, accompanied by irritation.

“Jaskier…?”

“Oh, shouldn’t I have said?” Marlene clutched her chest.

“Yes, no, it’s fine, Marlene!”, Jaskier wildly gestured and put a bright smile on his sickly face. “I’m sure it was just a momentary quirk, please do not bother to change your plans on my account. Whatever you’ll conjure up in your pan will be lovely, I’m sure.”

Only after she’d been reassured and left with the usual content smile on her face, the cheerfulness left the bard. The spell was broken. Geralt didn’t know what to say to his friend, who stood in front of him, frowning down at the ground. How to put this into words? What he felt; what his offer possibly meant for their companionship, their friendship.

“Let’s… let’s talk about it later, alright?”, Jaskier finally said with a small voice. “I want to. I don’t know how, but I want to.”

Geralt nodded. “Me too.”

At that, Jaskier’s face lit up, which in turn did funny things to the witcher’s heartbeat. There had been words, few but enough to make room for anticipation. And hope. Silently agreeing that this would suffice for the moment and they went back inside.

Time for breakfast was cut short by the arrival of their favourite vampire. Regis and Jaskier were both equally delighted to meet again after years, which at least brought some colour back to the bard’s complexion. Over his dramatic rendition of their chase after Emilia, he even had a few fried potato bites. When he came to the part where his heat had started, he simply jumped ahead to when they had found her letter.

“Quite an ordeal you’ve gone through, only to return empty handed.”, Regis acknowledged.

“Thank you! Now there’s a vampire to my liking!”

The spoken to chuckled. “I’m afraid I’m not a common example for my species. Miss van Vasquess, although I believe she is somewhat trying, doesn’t seem to understand the urgency humans feel because of their limited lifespans.”

“On that note.”, Geralt added while Marlene took his empty plate to the kitchen. “We should get to it and contact Shani.”

“Right.”, Regis exclaimed. “The next riddle is waiting! I have to say, I missed the air of constant adventure your company brings, Geralt.”

“Right?”, the bard grinned and winked as they made their way over to Roaches stable.

The mare had seen much more exciting things in its time with the witcher, so it didn’t even blink an eye when Geralt set up the megascope. It was fortunate they had brought Regis, since the vampire offered to activate the device after Geralt admitted to his last try – which had involved two more witchers, Yennifer’s wardrobe and so much vodka. So bard and witcher stood by as Regis uttered the Elven words. In between the three crystals, the flickering image of a wood panelled, dimly lit room appeared.

“Shani?”, the witcher tried.

Instead of the fair redhead, a disgruntled and tired looking young man with glasses peaked into the frame. He briefly rolled his eyes in a dramatic fashion, disappeared again and repeated Geralt’s call.

“Finally!”, a clear voice chimed and a second later, Shani appeared before them. “And Jaskier and Regis too! It’s good to see you all. At last! Hans has been waiting here for days.”

“Sorry for taking so long, but megascopes and xenovoxes aren’t exactly easy to come by, Shani.”, the witcher replied.

“But Yennifer has both! Isn’t she with you?”

“No, she is not.”

“Oh… well, I assumed…”

“Seems like everyone just assumes that.”, he mumbled and decidedly looked away from both Jaskier and Regis. “So tell me. What’s-“

“Shani!”, the bard called and pointed to her midsection. “Is that- are you pregnant?”

She laughed. “Why thank you, yes, I am very obviously pregnant. At least one of you notices.”

Geralt sighed and shot a look at the bard. “I did see it and was just about to-“

“Congratulations, Shani. It’s a joy to see you so happy.”, Regis interrupted him. Geralt decided that a group call may not have been the best idea.

“Thank you, my friend. But we can celebrate later. Geralt, I have something to tell you and I don’t know how you’ll take it.” She looked down and started fumbling with her hands. “It is a somewhat private matter and then again, it might also be of concern for others than yourself…”

Geralt crossed his arms. More trouble on the horizon? What could she possibly mean with ‘private matter’?

“Out with it, Shani. I think I’ve seen and heard almost everything by now.”

She let out an unsure laugh. “Not this, believe me.” The exhausted man reappeared and put down a chair next to her. She shot him an affectionate smile and took a seat, resting her hands on her prominent belly and taking a deep breath.

“About two years back, I was approached by three of the universitiy’s professors. I didn’t know them; only ever saw them as faces among the campus crowd. Apparently, they had learned that I had affiliations with witchers in the past.”

“That’s one way to call it.”, Jaskier muttered, but shut up when Geralt and Shani shot him certain looks.

“Anyway. I saw no reason to deny it, so I didn’t. The professors proceeded to ask if I knew if any of you were around. I simply assumed they needed someone to take care of a monster problem and right out wanted to know if they had a contract of some sort. Thinking back, I see that their reaction was kind of strange: They exchanged panicked looks, mumbled something to each other and then said I should forget they asked.”

Creases appeared on Geralt’s forehead. “So they didn’t want anyone to know they had in interest in witchers. Some kind of secret research?”

She nodded. “But wait, it gets weirder. Only a few months ago, I saw them again, arguing about something in a nook on campus. I clearly remember one of them shouting; accusing the other two of abandoning years of research and a golden opportunity while they tried to hush him. The term ‘witcher’ fell again. The loud one eventually stormed off.” She sighed and looked to the ceiling. “I am not in denial about how far the intellectual curiosity of some of the university staff goes. Far beyond anything sane in some cases. But whatever they’d been up to, I assumed they’d failed. I forgot about it again. Until the fire.”

“What fire?”

“The one last week that destroyed half the university. The cause is still not clear; then again, no one bothers to ask in an institution where alchemical experiments cause medium-sized explosions every other day. However, make an educated guess who the only two casualties were.”

“Hmm.” Geralt exchanged a look with Regis and Jaskier, who appeared as sceptical as himself. “That’s all really vague, if you ask me. Where do I come in on this?”

“Sush, Geralt. I’m getting there.”, she said and raised her index finger. “The houses of said professors burned down too only one day later.”

“That was no coincidence.”, Regis decided and received an agreeing nod from her.

“Luckily, my own curiosity had me act before it happened. The whole thing was so odd; it wouldn’t leave my thoughts. So I asked a friend to sneak into their homes, since I am not exactly agile in my current state. And I was right – they _did_ conduct research on witchers.”

Geralt huffed. “Whatever you found; they picked a dead-end field of study. Considering how few of us are left.”

Shani crossed her arms and her face showed a mix of concern and irritation. “Exactly my thought, but apparently, they had already found their Guinea pig.” She took out a letter. “Now hold on to something and listen to this…”

_My Dear Gaspar,_

_We cannot rest our laurels. True, we convinced the witcher to drink the concoction we had brewed without much difficulty, but now we must gather information. Somehow I doubt that this Gerard, or whatever his name was, will truly keep an experiment diary, even if by some miracle he is literate. And without hard data, the Academy’s governors will never renew our grant – believe me. I’ve been down that road before!_

_To keep one step ahead of events, I’ve already taken appropriate action. To be precise, while in Flotsam I hired a spy who will follow our witcher’s every move and observe his deeds, especially those performed in the alcove. If our calculations are correct, within a year’s time his sterility will be reversed – proof of which fact should come quickly in the form of expanding bellies, if the rumours about him contain even a grain of truth._

_The spy’s wage is costly, true, but I’m convinced this investment will yield dividends. I believe a potion which restores the ability to reproduce to those who have lost it due to magic or alchemic experiments will be in high demand – and earn us a fortune._

_Vivat Academia,_

_Farid_

_PS: Just remember – not a peep about this around the department, or the ethics committee will flay us alive._

_PPS: I’ve received the spy’s first report. The witcher is headed to Loc Muinne. Perhaps it’s a good time to visit?_

The stable was filled with what was perhaps the most awkward silence the witcher had ever witnessed.

“That ring a bell, _Gerard_?”, Shani asked eventually.

Regis coughed. “All things considered, I think we can estimate that whatever they came up with was promising enough to be of interest to someone who is willing to leave corpses rather than traces.”, he concluded.

“My thoughts exactly. So…” Shani’s gaze on the witcher was intent. “Please don’t tell me you drank an unknown potion three shady professors gave you in some backway alley two years ago.”

All eyes were on him.

“Fuck…”

She sighed and slumped back in her chair. “Yeah, and I bet you did. Quite a lot since then.”

Meaningful looks were exchanged.

“Is that why you were calling?”, Regis frowned. “Is Geralt…”, the vampire gestured vaguely around the projection of her baby bump.

“What? God no, no!”, she grimaced and then laughed. “No, Geralt and I- that was a long time ago. I am with a rather plain man now, in comparison. He wouldn’t even mind me saying that. Do you, honey?”, she called into the room.

The man in glasses appeared again, looked Geralt up and down, huffed and shook his head. Shani snickered. “Hans was a fellow colleague. Until he was more.”

Her fond smile faded back into reality. “But that’s not the point here, is it? Geralt, I would not normally ask you this, but who have you been with in the last few months? Can you recall?”

And that’s when Geralt’s and Jaskier’s eyes met.

Well.

Fuck.

\- - -

“Geralt?”

Shani’s worried gaze focused on the witcher. Who still looked at the bard with wide eyes. Who stared back in shock. Shani was a smart woman and her second “Geralt??” was much more urgent.

“Geralt!” Now she looked at him the way nannies or teachers would look at naughty children. “Did you fuck the bard? Did you fuck the OMEGA bard??”

“Oh my…”, Regis palmed his face. “Well, I can’t say it’s a surprise, to be honest.”

Jaskier was not available for comments. He barely heard the vampire or Shani’s further questions over the white noise ringing in his ears. He needed to sit down. He needed to move. He couldn’t.

“Calm down now, we don’t know anything yet.”, Regis said. “So they were intimate once.” When Geralt looked to the ground and Jaskier shook his head in disbelief, he hesitated. “Well. Several times…?” Shani’s gasp didn’t make the situation any better.

“Either way, it doesn’t mean Jaskier is with child. After all, you’re always on these heat blocking potions, aren’t you?”

He kept shaking his head and buried his face in his hands.

“Aren’t you??”

That’s when Jaskier turned on his heel and walked out without a word.

_Geralt, mark me._

He needed to walk; he couldn’t think.

_Knock me up…_

A field. Any field would do. To wander around until whenever.

_I’m begging you, please Geralt…_

“Jaskier!”

No. No way. He couldn’t deal with this right now.

On a small hill with a willow tree amidst the fields, the witcher caught up to him.

“Will you wait and talk to me?”

Any other day, any other situation, he’d been more than happy to hear these words from him. But he did stop eventually. Footsteps behind him told him that Geralt walked up to him. He didn’t touch the bard though.

“Regis is right, we don’t know yet. Not for sure.”

He whirled around.

“Geralt, I was in heat! My eggs were popping like a cornfield under dragon fire™!”

Just yesterday, they had joked about it; had made a game of it in bed. How hot the idea had been…

“I’ve been eating weird for days, puking my heart out at the smell of Marlene cooking pork. I am- I am-“

He couldn’t say it. Geralt’s face was unreadable. Should he be mad, should he smile? Jaskier didn’t know. He didn’t know what he felt himself.

“Should this be the case,”, an approaching voice said. “We have to consider another important matter, or rather, special circumstances.”

Regis walked up behind the tree. Geralt glared at him and Jaskier understood why. Not that their friend’s insight wasn’t valuable, but this was a private moment, and a rather delicate one. The vampire continued. “Forgive me for intruding, but I feel this is important to address, preferably with only the two of you present.”

“Get to the point, Regis.”, Geralt snapped.

The vampire didn’t even flinch, of course, and studied Jaskier, who was looking back at him miserably.

“How are you feeling?”

“How am I feeling? Honestly? I don’t know – shocked? Overwhelmed, a bit afraid perhaps?”

“Understandably. You also mentioned uncommon cravings, headaches… anything else, physically?”

Geralt looked at Jaskier, who didn’t have the stomach to return that and instead studied the closest grapevine. He hesitated, before admitting: “I feel weak, tired. Very, at times.”

“Drained?”

He nodded.

“Anything else?”

The omega cursed and crossed his arms in front of him. “There are… other cravings. It sometimes feels like I am entering another heat, only briefly though.” He shot an uncertain look to the witcher.

“And, I hope you don’t mind me being so direct, have there been any other… partners?”

“NO!” He didn’t intend to shout and added more calmly. “Not in recent months.”

“I understand.” Regis nodded and turned to Geralt. “This potion, if it worked -and I suppose we can be fairly sure that it did- circumvented one of the more ethical rules in magical genetic mutation.”

Geralt grit his teeth. Jaskier had no idea what this was about, but he let his vampire friend continue.

“As you know, the sole purpose of making witchers and magicians sterile is the lack of knowledge about how magically enhanced genes would react if they were inherited by another generation.”

“What do you mean?”, Jaskier asked, barely able to contain his concern.

“I mean that, if you were to have Geralt’s child, we have no way of knowing which mutagens-, which of his abilities it would carry. What you described, the cravings, morning sickness, fatigue and headaches- Hmm. What would you say, how far along are you?”

“Five and a half weeks.”

Geralt frowned at him, but Jaskier knew. It was then, the first time, on the riverside. For some reason he knew.

“Well, these symptoms are common in the first trimester. Still, this case is the first of its kind, as far as I know. It’s hard to say what will happen later on.”

The bard’s concern grew and turned into fear. He saw the witcher’s fist clench at the corner of his view.

“Will I… will I be able to carry it to term?”

Regis didn’t answer immediately, which was a horrible hint. “I cannot say for sure. Perhaps we are over-reacting and it won’t be a problem, except for the pregnancy being more exhausting than a usual one. And perhaps it will be more difficult than that.”

The bard’s face fell. Putting a hand over his mouth, he turned away from them, facing the fields ahead instead. Geralt just stood there unmoving, like a rock in the wind.

“Regis.”, the witcher eventually said. “Can you do more research?”

Their friend gave him a sharp nod. “Anything.” Then he turned to Jaskier, took a step towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I will do all that is in my power to help you on the way.”

The bard gulped and nodded. Then the vampire turned and walked back to the estate, leaving Geralt and Jaskier to themselves.

\- - -

_Will I be able to carry it to term?_

Jaskier wanted it. Without knowing perhaps, he’d said so.

Geralt had always shoved away all thoughts about how his life could’ve been had ne not become a witcher. They were pointless, because he _was_ a witcher and that, throughout his life, had meant he would never have children. Except for Ciri, of course. Even with his child of surprise, it had taken him years to get used to the thought – until they had finally met. Then, from one second to the next, there was no denying that he was a father.

The thought of her… yes, he already was a father. And to have that again, with Jaskier… who wanted it… A warm feeling lit up in his chest. It grew, fast, and absorbed most of the worries the recent revelations had brought. It grew and grew until it got too big and threatened his airways. He had to take a few deep, calming breaths.

Geralt felt drawn to the omega yet didn’t know what to say. Eventually, it was the bard who spoke first. But his voice was strange.

“Let’s not make a big deal out of it.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Geralt. I can leave and should probably do so soon, while I am still mostly okay.” When he turned around, his face was pale, his eyes cold. “I know it wasn’t your fault. Even though you shouldn’t have taken that concoction, but you didn’t know it would lead to this. Gods, if I find these bastards who- Anyway. You don’t have any obligations towards me or-“

He didn’t continue but his hand found its way onto his abdomen. Where both their hands had been only recently, when they had thought about what it would be like to have _this_. Something that was from both of them.

Geralt knew this was an essential moment; he should move his damn feet, go over to his friend and tell him- tell him-

Jaskier waited. The seconds ticked by. He waited. Until he didn’t and a defeated smile appeared on his face.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”

And he turned to leave.

Fuck.

\- - -

A week passed. An uncomfortable week, during which neither of them found their way into the others bed.

Regis visited often and since Emilia didn’t show up to retrieve her megascope, Shani called in every other day, providing advice and plotting with Geralt and the vampire. They were eager to find out more about the professor’s shenanigans. But Jaskier never joined them.

It had come to his mind, an image of Shani and him talking about what to expect when expecting. Shani sharing her first months, passing her joy onto him, taking his mind off the circumstances around his own situation. Only to get hit by reality once he stepped away from the megascope. No, he didn’t want to _feel_ the joy of being pregnant. Not when the man he loved could barely look at him.

And it wasn’t even that that had him sitting in the guestroom most of the time. It was the fact that somehow, he still had a grain of hope he couldn’t shake off. Had he even listened to the witcher? The day of the revelation was hazy in his memory, surely thanks to the shock. He was aware that he’d been overemotional recently. Had his fear gotten the best of him; had he overreacted when he offered to leave? But that was one week ago and Geralt still hadn’t said a word about it; hadn’t outright denied him and the child but simply hadn’t said anything. Expect for matters of Jaskier’s physical wellbeing; a very many ‘how-are-you-feeling-today’s and ‘have-you-eaten’s. And it drove the bard mad.

Still. With half of his things packed, he hadn’t been able to see his farewell through yet.

“One last try…?”, he mumbled to himself. What’s the harm? Could it hurt any more than this?

As he made his way downstairs, the witcher was no where to be seen. Jaskier sat down in the hall and took the time to collect his thoughts, put phrases together that he hoped made sense. Short and precise, no room for misinterpretations. _I want this and I want you._ Could he manage that?

His head snapped up as a loud thunderous sound tore the quietness around the house apart. People screamed in the yard and things fell to the ground. Jaskier stood and took a few steps backwards.

“Let me through. LET ME THROUGH!”

The door flew open with such force the hinges broke. Through the gaping entrance, a whirlwind of black curls and fury stormed in. “Where is he??” Then, Yennifer’s wild eyes found him.

“How did you do it?”

The witch backed him into a corner, and he raised his hands in defence. Fuck, he should’ve known this would happen. 

“How the fuck did you do it, Jaskier?”

“It wasn’t me!”

“So you are not pregnant with Geralt’s child?”

“No, yes, I am-”

“Then how for the fucking sake of everything DID YOU DO THAT?”

“It wasn’t our fault- God Yennifer, can you please not kill me?”

The magical crackling in the air around her decreased as she took a step back and breathed in and out once.

“I wouldn’t. You’re with child. But I swear Jaskier, if you don’t answer me right fucking now-“

The candelabra and everything else on the table behind her crashed into the nearest wall. Geralt stood in the hole that had been the main door, his hand still raised from casting Aard.

“Yen, stop. We didn’t know it could happen.”

The sorceress’s anger-twisted face turned to the witcher.

“I don’t give a damn, Geralt. I want to know how!”

Her energy flared again, pressing Jaskier into the wall. Geralt shot her a warning look and raised his hand higher, ready to cast another sign. “Come outside and I’ll tell you.”

The sound that left her throat was both frustration and hurt. She glared daggers at the bard. Before she whirled around and headed for the door, shoving Geralt in the chest when she passed him.

Geralt was with him in an instant. “Are you al-“

“STOP ASKING ME THAT!”

Taken aback and somewhat hurt, the witcher looked at him wide eyed. “For fucks sake, Jaskier-“

“It’s alright, I’m fine. Sorry.”, he huffed, straightening his clothes. “…I’m sorry. She startled me.”

It briefly looked like Geralt wanted to reach out to him. Then he didn’t and they stood there, both looking to the ground. Again. So much for his brilliant plan.

“I better go and talk to her before she brings the house down on us.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

A faint smile tucked at the bard’s lips when he thought back to their first encounter with the sorceress. When Geralt made an amused sound, Jaskier dared to look up. Although the witcher was smiling, there was something sad in his eyes. Or maybe longing. And he had to look away again.

“I wonder how she found out. Only Shani and Regis know, right?”

“Eskel and Lambert too.”, Geralt admitted. “Had to tell them, in case they’d been approached too.”

Although he didn’t want to imagine the other witcher’s reactions, Jaskier found the warning all too reasonable. “But then how does Yen know?”

“I wrote to her.”

His fingers went cold and numb. The sensation quickly spread through his entire body. Of course he had. No time like the present to reunite with his all-time favourite; the witch he was meant to bicker into the sunset with, according to all of their friends.

“Sure. Whatever.”

When he turned to leave, Geralt lightly grabbed his arm, but the bard shrugged his hand away.

“Go, Geralt. I believe you have a guest.”

 _It will be one less tomorrow_ , he thought as he went back upstairs to finish packing.

\- - -

It didn’t rain very often in Beauclair, so it’s citizens were less grumpy about it than the average Northener. Still, the streets were much less crowded in the drizzle that came with dusk.

Two hooded figures stood on the wet cobblestone of Mountebank alley.

“They know.”

“And how did that come to pass? It shouldn’t even be visible yet.”

“He shows signs. Also, a friend of them found out; a medic from the university.”

“Damnit. I told him he shouldn’t leave any evidence behind, breathing or not.” One of them began pacing, seemingly irritated. “We have to plan ahead. The next extraction cannot fail. I gave my word that it will be done and the man I gave my word to is not one to fool around with.”

“Still just a man.”, the second hissed.

“Careful now. I believe you have one of those too. One that is under much less protection than my associate.”

After that, the second one was silent.

“Good. Have our local contacts know that we’ll strike in six weeks time. Make sure they get themselves together until then; drain them, cut them off their supply if needed. We can’t afford any more mistakes, are we clear?”

The day had been warm, yet the raindrops may as well have frozen in between the two. It took a few moments until the resolve of the second one broke, but break it did eventually. Live was not fair; not even immortality changed that.

“Yes, m’lady.”

**Author's Note:**

> Houston, the bun is in the oven; I repeat; THE BUN IS IN THE OVEN -_- JK, y’all already knew it from part one. LOL  
> I chose to put the notes at the end this time because of trivia I’ve been dying to share with you from part one on: The letter from the professor? It’s friggin CANON. I shit you not. It actually friggin exists in the game (Geralt can chose to drink the concoction in Witcher II)!! I copied it, word by word. It was one of the inspirations for this series.  
> Sorry for the lack of sex in this part – it will come back, promise. Sometimes, you need a small angsty interlude just to come back swinging 😉


End file.
